The Knights Dawning

by James Batchelor

13th century England: The nobility is aligning against King John in a struggle for power. The kingdom is embroiled in war and bankrupt, and the Crusades are rampaging through the Middle East. The Dawnings are a once-powerful family of English knights who are facing the bleak prospects of their declining power and imminent destruction at the hands of enemies that surround them both at home and abroad.

The first book in the Crusades series, The Knights Dawning sets the stage for a titanic struggle for survival that could consume a family, a people, and a kingdom. The epic battles and action-packed scenes are coupled with deep characters and complex relationships that give the story a depth beyond ordinary adventure novels. Join the Dawnings as they feud over power, love, jealousies, and old grudges that threaten to destroy the family from within at the moment they most need to stand united.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

580 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 10, 2011

About the author

James Batchelor was born in San Jose California, the ninth of ten children. He was raised in California, Utah, and Arizona. He received a BA in History and a BA in Political Science from the University of Utah.

He has loved writing since his earliest years and always intended to be an author, but found many distractions along the way. In other lives he has been a carpenter, martial arts teacher, opera student, vacuum cleaner salesman (for 3 days), Realtor, children's teacher, and a business analyst.

A bit of a nomad, James has lived all over Japan and the United States, from coast to coast and many places in between. He currently resides with his wife, Elizabeth, and their five children in the Chicago area.

Reviews

[James Batchelor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was amazing! But then, I might be a little biased. =)

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the characters in this book. I thought they were strong and the author's voice was strong, but I had issues with the editing. The flow of the story felt very chopped up and left me to wonder if some important transitions were cut out. This book also ended in a very strange place. Just as everything came to a climax the story ended and none of the conflicts the author spent so much time creating were resolved. I was left unsatisfied and unsure if I want to continue on with the series.

[Jenben8426 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is the time of knights, crusades, turmoil, and upheaval and the Dawning Family is right in the midst of it all. Once a powerful and seemingly indestructible family of knights led by their father Braden Dawning, the six brothers trained to become a loyal and unstoppable knight fighting for their God and Country. But what seems to be a perfect family from the outside is never quite the full picture. Once their father died, the brothers seemed to let their vices take them far from the training of their youth. They are now scattered, each with their own demons, each trying to come to grips with their place not only in 12th century England, but within their own family, never realizing that if they don't come together despite all their flaws their hidden enemies will end Dawning Court.

A few words on the edition I read. Since I do not own a Kindle I had the opportunity to read the Advanced Reader copy. I do know the author and was told that since the paperback copy was released, there have been many editing revisions that are now on the most recent edition on the Kindle. This is good--because there were a lot of mess-ups in the Advanced Reader copy. Now on to my opinions.

Overall I wanted to give the book a 3.75 stars (how's that for getting technical?), but I did round up almost solely based on the last few chapters--they were fantastic! I have to wonder if some of the problems I encountered have been solved in the newer editions.

First the negative to get it out of the way...
-I admit that in the beginning of the book I was lost. For the first several chapters I was in a different part of the world with a different character in the story. I had a hard time keeping up. However, that being said once the story continued forward the holes began to fill and I was able to keep up. It would have been nice to have a list of characters with a brief who's who at the beginning or end of the book to help the reader understand from the beginning.
-I did not like when the story was told from the perspective of the side character. I preferred it from the viewpoints of the Dawnings. There were only a couple of these throughout the book (David in particular and also an Evelyn) so it didn't seem to fit with the format of the rest.

The In Between:
-The format of using flashbacks was at first confusing and I wasn't sure how I felt about it at times. However, once I got into the pacing of the book and understood the purpose of the flashbacks and how they connected with the proceeding or next chapter I quickly fell into the rhythm and pace that I believe the author was wanting to convey.

Now the positive:
-The brothers of the Dawning family were very nicely developed. By the end of the novel I was quite connected to each brother (minus Edward since he was not as prominent). I wish that we could have gotten a bit more from the mother as well as Leah, but perhaps that will come in the next novel. I also don't know if I want to hate Mary or not! :)
-The story was action packed and moved quite well. It was interesting to put together the pieces as it unfolded. It was intriguing to get a look at the big picture through each of the brothers' eyes.
-The last few chapters of the book are extremely riveting and it definitely leaves you wanting more. I will definitely be checking out the next book in the Dawning series.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to get into the book but once I did, I really enjoyed it. I would start it only to lose interest in it so it took me a couple of tries. But this last time, I couldn't stop reading. The big reasons why I would lose interest is because there are so many main characters the story would hop back and forth to and also because the story has flashbacks to past events. So I'd have to think, "Now which character is this again and what have I learned about them so far?" But once I became very familiar with the characters, I, for the most part, could keep the characters and the character developments straight in my mind. And the action scenes are exciting and bloody as would be expected from a war book.

I definitely will recommend this book to others and can't wait to read the next one in this series. James, よくできました！

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. The author did a great job of keeping up several story lines and interweaving them all. There are so many characters that I had a hard time keeping the names straight at first, but it was such a good read that it was worth taking the time to go back and remind myself who each name was. The story was gripping, one that I often stayed up way too late reading. I can't wait to read the next one!

[Avid-reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is excellent! My brother borrowed my copy, then his wife read it, then they gave my copy to a friend... I'm still waiting for them to return my copy!

The character development in this book was awesome. The story was unlike any other I've read. Overall, very well done. I would highly recommend it!

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent first novel! Batchelor has a lot of fun capturing the inner workings of a medieval family and their adventures. It is a fun read and I look forward to the second and third installments. If you like historical fiction, I'd say give it a shot. just be aware that there are a some editing issues - don;t let them get in the way of the book's merits.

[smj018 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was a good story with interesting character development. The editing was atrocious. And the ending left too much hanging. I prefer to read books that don't draw the story out and lets me decide if I was to continue the series or not.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting tale BUT the book needed better proof reading and it would have been helpful if a few dates were added i.e. the chapters entitled Persia or Egypt could use a subtitle w/ the year.

[Michael T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible writing and many creative details. Whitty approach to a very interesting time! Loved it and can't wait for book number two!

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, get a better editor.

[Jared Pedroza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly accurate historical fiction masterfully told by Mr. Batchelor. A must read for those interested in the Knights Templar and the Crusades.